Thinking about becoming a vegetarian, but scared! Need advice!

ctmike1980

I suddenly feel the urge to stop eating meat. I want to give the vegetarian lifestyle a shot. I would still eat cheese, eggs, milk, etc., just NO MEAT whatsoever. I am scared and hesitant and want to hear from anyone who has done it successfully long-term and any advice you can give. Thanks.

dbanks80

What are you scared of?

ctmike1980

Scared I will get bored with choices and regret doing it. Also not sure what I would be spending on groceries, whether it would be more or less expensive.

annette_15

Try a week and see how it goes? You can always just change your mind if you dont like it?

yarwell

Figure out where your protein will come from to get a better understanding of where you're heading. It's a minority lifestyle so seek out groups dedicated to it. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/search?group_group=1&Search=veg

socioseguro

You can eat less meat without becoming a vegetarian.
If you continue eating cheese, eggs and milk then you are NOT a vegetarian.
There are MFP vegetarian groups at MFP "Groups" option, at dark blue banner above
here is a link
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/45-happy-herbivores
You have to decide what makes you happy, start with your favorite foods. Buy yourself a food scale, weigh everything you eat. If you eat at a deficit ( calories burned > calories ingested) your body weight will decrease.
Good luck in your healthy journey

kisamekick

Bored with the choices? Pizza, burgers, pasta, risotto, stir-fry, noodles, curry, burritos, lasagna and I haven't even started on all the faux meat you can buy! And all the fruit and veg you eat. I'm vegan myself, and I thought I wouldn't be able to eat anything, but you just get more creative with food.

Unknown

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rbiss

I have been a healthy vegetarian and an unhealthy vegetarian. The key is making your diet balanced, have variety, and have a backup plan for when you're stressed, busy etc. There are tons of recipes out there. My favorite blogs are Happy Healthy Kitchen and Oh She Glows. My favorite cookbooks are But I could Never go Vegan, Oh She Glows, Forks Over Knives, and Thug Kitchen. These are vegan cookbooks, but there is nothing stopping you from adding back in whatever food group you want. I like vegan cookbooks because there is a lot of variety. People come up with neat recipes and flavors that I would never think to put together and work very well.

There is nothing to be afraid of. Pick some recipes you want to try, have a couple of go to's and try new things. You don't have to make the switch overnight or even switch over completely. A vegetarian diet can be very healthy as long as you pay attention to what you're eating.

Good luck!

klove808

^2nd the creativity aspect. I found more than I ever thought of existing when I went veggie .... Which was 20+ years ago.

fivelongmiles

I'm not a vegetarian, but I'm doing the FODMAP diet to see if there's a food causing my troubles, and I did total elimination of all of the foods on the list as a first attempt. I thought it would be difficult but I'm several weeks in and still not bored! I think that's the main thing - even if you're not eating certain foods, there are still so many other foods out there that you still have plenty to choose from.

Ready2Rock206

Why label it? And why would it be so bad if you did eat meat again? Just eat how you want, don't worry about the strict labels and then it doesn't sound so scary.

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fldiver97

socioseguro wrote: »

You can eat less meat without becoming a vegetarian.
If you continue eating cheese, eggs and milk then you are NOT a vegetarian.[/b
There are MFP vegetarian groups at MFP "Groups" option, at dark blue banner above
here is a link
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/45-happy-herbivores
You have to decide what makes you happy, start with your favorite foods. Buy yourself a food scale, weigh everything you eat. If you eat at a deficit ( calories burned > calories ingested) your body weight will decrease.
Good luck in your healthy journey

No disrespect but to clarify
OP - several 'forms' of vegetarianism exist....
Vegetarians do not eat fish, poultry, beef, pork or any animal but can eat eggs and dairy - ovo-lacto vegetarians.
Some do not eat eggs and/or dairy.
Vegans do not eat any animal products including dairy, eggs, honey

I have been vegetarian for 27 years and vegan for a few months.
Beans and lentils, tofu, seitan and many other things are good sources of protein and exchanges for meats. Vegetarian and vegan lifestyles are not more expensive. Plenty of recipes and ideas available. Cutting out junk food and some of the more processed foods and 'treats' and replacing them with more produce and whole foods has not made my grocery bill go up but my waistline go down

ekruska802

Maybe try easing in by going meatless a day (or several) per week while building up a repertoire of recipes you like? We did that at my house, and while we still eat meat, we've found we really like our meatless foods so we eat them a lot.

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Machka9

annette_15 wrote: »

Try a week and see how it goes? You can always just change your mind if you dont like it?

This ^^

I go weeks without meat ... and then I get a craving so I add a little meat for a while because I figure my body needs the extra protein, and then I might go a few days or a week or so without meat ...

It's not like you have to lock in for the rest of your life.



I grew up in a family where meat was the most important aspect of a meal. The answer to the question, "What do you want for dinner" was always a meat choice ... pork chops, steak, hamburger, roast beef, roast chicken, etc. etc. etc. The answer was never, "baked potatoes with cheese" or "fettuccine alfredo" or things like that.

Trouble was, I don't particularly care for most meat ... never have. So when I moved out, I dropped meat almost entirely for some time. Since then, I've gone through periods of time where I include it, and periods of time when I don't (as mentioned above), but I rarely eat much of it.

fishshark

socioseguro wrote: »

You can eat less meat without becoming a vegetarian.
If you continue eating cheese, eggs and milk then you are NOT a vegetarian.
There are MFP vegetarian groups at MFP "Groups" option, at dark blue banner above
here is a link
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/45-happy-herbivores
You have to decide what makes you happy, start with your favorite foods. Buy yourself a food scale, weigh everything you eat. If you eat at a deficit ( calories burned > calories ingested) your body weight will decrease.
Good luck in your healthy journey

eeek.. you are very wrong about vegetarians not eating dairy or eggs. Vegans do not eat animal products or honey.

i am an off and on vegetarian due to health issues like sever b6/12 deficiency and anemina. My advice is to make sure u are either eating enough dair like yogurt or for sure supplement a b complex. Other then that have fun its awesome and u wont get bored. Personally i try harder when i cut out meat. I make lettuce wraps with veggies cilantro and a spicy peanut sauce, stir frys, and tons of soups! right now i eat meat but when my health issues are resolved i will go back.

YeaYeaPueblo

rbiss wrote: »

I have been a healthy vegetarian and an unhealthy vegetarian. The key is making your diet balanced, have variety, and have a backup plan for when you're stressed, busy etc. There are tons of recipes out there. My favorite blogs are Happy Healthy Kitchen and Oh She Glows. My favorite cookbooks are But I could Never go Vegan, Oh She Glows, Forks Over Knives, and Thug Kitchen. These are vegan cookbooks, but there is nothing stopping you from adding back in whatever food group you want. I like vegan cookbooks because there is a lot of variety. People come up with neat recipes and flavors that I would never think to put together and work very well.

There is nothing to be afraid of. Pick some recipes you want to try, have a couple of go to's and try new things. You don't have to make the switch overnight or even switch over completely. A vegetarian diet can be very healthy as long as you pay attention to what you're eating.

Good luck!

I second the Oh She Glows cookbook. Every recipe is a home run!

Caitwn wrote: »

Wow. People are complicating a pretty simple question. I was vegetarian for many years; I am currently an omnivore (just a personal decision), but eat a heavily plant-based diet that includes many vegetarian meals. As a vegetarian, you'll have plenty of variety and delicious ways to meet your macros. Just be sure to include protein from beans, legumes, tofu, seitan, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc. The various meat substitute products aren't bad; you may have to experiment to find the ones you prefer (Morningstar Farms, Beyond Meat, Boca, etc.)

I find my vegetarian and non-vegetarian grocery bills to be very similar.

I will say that if you want to go vegetarian, it helps if you enjoy cooking. I feel that way about healthy eating in general - cooking from scratch really is key to variety and interesting food choices. For example, a lot of people think tofu is boring because they just dump it out of the package and scramble it or stir-fry it. But once you learn some of the recipes for crispy and baked tofu, you'll never look back.

Anyway, there's nothing to be scared of. Vegetarian food is delicious and healthy. The best advice I can give you is just dive in and try recipes off some of the many really excellent vegetarian websites. A few favorites:

cookieandkate.com/
ohsheglows.com/ (she's vegan, and as a vegetarian you'll have more options - but the recipes on her site are very good)
thefirstmess.com/
naturallyella.com/
mynewroots.org/site/
sproutedkitchen.com/

And two general recipe sites with great vegetarian options:
budgetbytes.com/
skinnytaste.com/2007/07/vegetarian-recipes.html

Have fun, and enjoy!

Great resources here, too! ^

Just go for it! Make one or two days a week vegetarian, and ease your way in. It'll be second nature before you know it.

Machka9

YeaYeaPueblo wrote: »

Just go for it! Make one or two days a week vegetarian, and ease your way in. It'll be second nature before you know it.

Yeah, lots of people do "Meatless Mondays" and things like that. That might be a good way to start.

PeachyCarol

Caitwn wrote: »

Wow. People are complicating a pretty simple question. I was vegetarian for many years; I am currently an omnivore (just a personal decision), but eat a heavily plant-based diet that includes many vegetarian meals. As a vegetarian, you'll have plenty of variety and delicious ways to meet your macros. Just be sure to include protein from beans, legumes, tofu, seitan, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc. The various meat substitute products aren't bad; you may have to experiment to find the ones you prefer (Morningstar Farms, Beyond Meat, Boca, etc.)

I find my vegetarian and non-vegetarian grocery bills to be very similar.

I will say that if you want to go vegetarian, it helps if you enjoy cooking. I feel that way about healthy eating in general - cooking from scratch really is key to variety and interesting food choices. For example, a lot of people think tofu is boring because they just dump it out of the package and scramble it or stir-fry it. But once you learn some of the recipes for crispy and baked tofu, you'll never look back.

Anyway, there's nothing to be scared of. Vegetarian food is delicious and healthy. The best advice I can give you is just dive in and try recipes off some of the many really excellent vegetarian websites. A few favorites:

cookieandkate.com/
ohsheglows.com/ (she's vegan, and as a vegetarian you'll have more options - but the recipes on her site are very good)
thefirstmess.com/
naturallyella.com/
mynewroots.org/site/
sproutedkitchen.com/

And two general recipe sites with great vegetarian options:
budgetbytes.com/
skinnytaste.com/2007/07/vegetarian-recipes.html

Have fun, and enjoy!

Cosigned. Except I'm not currently an omnivore. I'm an ovo-lacto vegetarian who's mildly intolerant to soy. I have no trouble enjoying a delicious, varied diet of foods I love. I do miss tofu though. I really did love it after learning to properly prepare it.

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Lounmoun

I am not a vegetarian but decided to eat less meat due to finances. I find it a bit cheaper but I'm not buying a lot of premade meat replacers, tofu, vegetarian frozen dinners, etc.
It was helpful for me to make a list of all the meatless meals I already enjoyed. Some recipes with meat that I liked I can just leave out the meat or substitute beans. Doing it that way it wasn't really like giving up anything just eating more of different things I liked.

You could gradually increase the number of meatless meals you eat each week. I try to do 3 or 4 meatless dinners each week.
Dry beans, lentils, eggs, rice, pasta, potatoes, onions, carrots, and oatmeal are cheaper basics that you can build a lot of meals with.

seltzermint555

Like others have clarified, you can be vegetarian and still eat eggs and dairy. Vegans don't eat that, vegetarians often do. There is also the pescetarian option (still eating fish/seafood in addition to eggs and dairy, but no beef, pork, poultry). My husband has been doing that for 14 years with no issues. However his diet is super healthy at times and not very healthy at other times...being pescetarian, vegetarian, or even vegan is no guarantee of health.

If you don't like it, you can always stop and/or adjust later.

I ate a pescetarian diet for 1 year in hopes of losing weight from the change. This was before I joined MFP. I think I did eat a little healthier overall but I only lost 8 lb in that year, and I had 100+ to lose, so it definitely wasn't magical in that sense. One of my husband's friends did it and lost 70 lb in a year. That guy was a huge consumer of bacon and beef, and he went from twice-daily fast food super size meals to home cooked pescetarian/veggie meals. I was more the type to eat meat 2 or 3 times a week, usually lean beef or a chicken entree, so the change wasn't as drastic for me (which disappointed me). I eventually went back to occasional meat eating (about twice a week normally).

I have no idea about your motivations and expectations but the worst that could happen is you'll change your mind. Good luck with whatever you decide!

PeacefulSeraph

I recommend you don't go vegetarian immediately, and try out eating meat only on weekends first. Mediterranean diets have very little meat overall, and are much more healthy. I went vegetarian for 6 months, and never felt so weak with all the vitamin deficiencies I was getting... even hair loss! And for allergy reasons I couldn't take vitamins, so I felt like crud. If it's for ethical reasons, good luck, & make sure you're getting the proper vitamins is all I can say.

Minervus

As a vegetarian for two years and now vegan, I can tell you there are SO many options. Honestly, when I was a meat eater I was bored because I would just cook the same things over and over.
Becoming a vegetarian would open up new opportunities to try something you wouldn't have in the past.

You must keep in mind though, that if you're trying to lose weight as a vegetarian, it may not happen so easily as people make it out to be. I remember when I first became a vegetarian I would load up on unhealthy snacks instead of real food because I had no idea what I was doing. I was kinda scared like you.

I suggest getting into cooking. When I did that all of my previous health problems started depleting because there was a balance.

Also, you may have to take B-12 supplements. Something with the way vegetables and fruits are planted/harvested make it that there isn't any in them. It's a myth that only animals have that vitamin, because B-12 is literally from the ground.

Sorry this post is all over the place! I hope it helps you and your decision!

Yi5hedr3

Be afraid....be very afraid......

beconfident2016

Becoming a vegetarian at first is hard, but you'll adjust pretty quickly. You can maybe start by cutting out meat, besides fish. That helped me a lot. You should give it a try and see!

sarahredhaira

I've been vegetarian for 29 years, and for 10 of those I was vegan. I don't take any kind of supplements, and just aim to have some protein in most meals. I've never found it difficult, though I probably do read food labels more than some people do. When I became vegetarian in the 1980s there was very little pre made vegetarian food available (such as quorn, or supermarket branded burgers and sausages) so I ate lots of pulses, tvp, and food from the health food shop. These days there is a huge range in most supermarkets. Some vegetarians rely heavily on these types of foods, some don't.

TrickyDisco

You don't need to take supplements for B12 if you're vegetarian; eggs and/or dairy produce will provide it. If you're vegan you do need to find a source of B12.

Unknown

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